Prenatal and postnatal environmental influences on child growth trajectories across a rural-urban gradient: an analysis of the ECoMiD longitudinal birth cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early childhood growth, a key indicator of child well-being, is shaped by both the prenatal and postnatal environment. To understand where and when environmental factors influence growth most, we analyzed size at birth, postnatal growth trajectories, and associations with environmental factors across a rural-urban gradient in the ECoMiD longitudinal birth cohort.

Methods and findings

Between 2021-2022, pregnant women were enrolled from four sites in northwest coastal Ecuador (urban city, intermediate town, rural villages connected by road, rural villages connected by river) and children were visited shortly after birth and quarterly thereafter for 24 months. We selected exposure variables using UNICEF's Conceptual Framework on Maternal and Child Malnutrition, incl

SUBMITTER: Hemlock C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12642747 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature